Forest fires’ impact on tourism development: a comparative study of Greece and Cyprus
Purpose: Every year thousands of acres are burned and a number of people lose their lives in forest fires that increasingly surpass the wild land limit and lead on to touristic, urban areas. By and large, Mediterranean countries rely highly on offering a tourist product based on sea, sun, culture and nature. While the sea and sun are not affected by fire catastrophes, places of cultural and natural beauty are indeed hit; tourists end up being uninformed with no proper guidance from the firefighting authorities. This paper seeks to address these issues. Design/methodology/approach: This paper attempts to highlight the relation between fire catastrophes and tourism development, to identify if and how state authorities take into account tourists in the planning and management of appropriate measures. A comparative study between Greece and Cyprus is presented. A number of interviews with stakeholders on the policy and operational level were conducted and the results and their implications are presented. Findings: Planning and suppression is complicated with a number of actors involved in various stages; national tourism organizations in both countries do not take part in the information or planning process. There is an emerging need for the provision of useful, comprehensive, practical information aimed at tourists. Research limitations/implications: The findings of the paper are based in a number of interviews with key policy makers as well as key operational commanders. The participation of the above in the policy making as well as operational phase shows a number of limitations. This paper presents a qualitative approach to the subject. A follow-up quantitative study is already planned. Practical implications: Lessons learnt from previous catastrophes, in-depth analysis of the existing "modus operandi" and "rules of engagement" should provide the necessary background for creating new risk-based, comprehensive, focused communication campaigns. Social implications: Safer societies and lower impact on the environment are the main outcomes of a concerted communication campaign. Tourism represents and multiplies the image of the country as a whole to the world; a solution to the problem would offer added value. Originality/value: The paper is based on a number of in-depth interviews with actors that took part in the actual handling of the two major catastrophes in Cyprus and Greece. The outcome of the interviews is presented for the first time.
Management of health and safety in micro-firms in Cyprus – Results from a Nationwide Survey
Management of health and safety in micro-firms (<10 employees) is a critical issue due to their lack of resources and the limited – in certain cases – knowledge on the subject. It is also an under-researched area in the international safety literature. The present paper is based on a Nationwide Survey with the cooperation of the relevant health and safety authority among micro-firms in several economic sectors. Micro-firms comprise a major percentage of business firms in a small economy like Cyprus. The survey involved the workers and the owners/managers of the firms, but also obtained information for compliance and safety performance of the particular firms from safety inspectors. The present research approach overcomes potential problems of common method bias when all data are obtained from the same group of respondents. The main purpose of this survey is to explore the organizational determinants of safety performance at the workplace in micro-firms.The paper presents only the results related to the perceptions of owners/managers and safety inspectors. Information was collected on demographic characteristics of firms and major influencing factors of safety performance such as employee participation in safety decisions, worker willingness to use personal protection measures, and safety training. The analysis of data has produced some interesting results showing the relationship between safety policy and good practices on the one hand and safety performance on the other, even in micro-firms. The safety performance measure, an index comprising several safety performance aspects assessed by the health and safety inspectors, has a positive and statistically significant correlation with the existence of safety policy in a firm, as stated by the owners/managers of firms. It has also a positive and statistically significant association with the written risk assessment of new equipment and the perceived employee willingness to use PPE (personal protection equipment).
Risk communication policy design: Cyprus compared to France and the Netherlands
This study aims at analyzing differences between risk communication policies in Cyprus, compared to the Netherlands, and France. It analyzes risk communication policies indirectly through a qualitative analysis of the information provided by official websites, which are considered to be proxies of these policies. The websites review will focus on the type of the information disclosed online, and the similarities and differences between the websites, regarding the information provided, the way it is communicated, the backing on credible sources, and the supplying of more information if desired, but also simply through the presenting of the WebPages. The results indicate that the Netherlands and France have created risk dedicated websites besides the ministries’ websites with information on risks, prevention and the authorities’ actions. There is a gap between strategies. The Dutch strategy is to give more responsibilities to the public, by encouraging individuals to be resilient and responsible for their own safety at a certain level by promoting preventive behaviors. The French strategy is to provide risk-dedicated information to the public, also on prevention and government actions. Opposed to this, the Cypriot authorities simply avoid this strategic question by confining the risk communication to the crisis phase, without entrusting people with a role in risk management, and by strictly one-directional communication, with government delivering and the public digesting (or not). Suggestions for risk communication policy development are discussed.
Employers’ perceived importance and the use (or non-use) of workplace risk assessment in micro-sized and small enterprises in Europe with focus on Cyprus
Occupational Safety and Health is often poorly managed in micro-sized enterprises (MiSEs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Previous studies have shown that employers in such enterprises do not conduct and/or regularly review workplace risk assessments, even though this is required by legislation. In other cases, they may conduct a superficial workplace risk assessment just to comply with legislation and satisfy the authorities. This study attempts to shed some light into the actual use or non-use of workplace risk assessment by MiSEs and SMEs, the level of its utilization, and investigate if it is used as a tool of occupational safety and health promotion and the reduction of workplace accidents and occupational diseases. It also introduces the concept of employers’ perception of the actual value of the risk assessment process. Data from ESENER-2 survey were analysed as well as data gathered by a survey conducted in Cyprus that included 201 MiSEs employing less than five employees, an area not covered by previous ESENER surveys. Analysis revealed that a significant percentage of employers in MiSEs do not perceive risk assessment as a valuable tool for improving occupational safety and health, indicating a problematic perception of and attitude towards health and safety issues. Moreover, considerable differences were identified not only in occupational safety and health management, but also in the perceived value of workplace risk assessment between northern and southern European countries, as well as for enterprises employing less than five employees.